Generally, a hanger system that provides adjustable securement of objects to a hanging surface. Specifically, a hanger that may be used independently, interlocked with itself, or with other types of securement hardware or mechanical fasteners to hang objects.
Hanging objects so that they are positioned correctly can be a difficult, frustrating, and time consuming task. xe2x80x9cA little to the left. No just a bit to the right. There. No wait. Just a teensy bit to your right.xe2x80x9d And so forth, until satisfaction is achieved. Or not xe2x80x9cOh just leave it!xe2x80x9d For centuries people have been hanging a wide variety of objects such as fine art, mirrors, furniture, knick knacks, framed items, or the like to surfaces. At one time or another nearly every person will use a hanger to secure an object to a surface. Because there is a large commercial market for hanger devices, the manner of securing objects to surfaces has taken a variety of forms. In spite of the variety of hanger devices available to the consumer, substantial problems remain unresolved with respect to providing an object hanger that maintains objects in the desired orientation with respect to the hanging surface, and with respect to providing an object hanger that has a multiplex of hanger technologies in a single hanger device. As such, there remains a long felt, but unresolved need, for an object hanger that can be used to hang a variety of objects and which maintains the objects in a desired orientation with respect to the hanging surface.
A significant problem with conventional hanger devices may be that the suspension element is responsive to a single point hanger. Single point hangers encompass any object hanger which provides a single suspension point, or single support point, to which a portion of a suspension element is responsive. For example, a nail driven into the hanging surface provides a single point hanger. Other examples of single point hangers are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,507,462; 3,861,639; 4,641,807; 5,048,788; 5,906,349; and 4,026,510, hereby incorporated by reference. As can be understood, when the ends of a suspension element, such as a wire or a cord, are connected a distance apart to the object to be hung and when a portion of the suspension element is made responsive to a single point hanger, the suspension element forms a triangle. The base of the triangle can be defined by the distance between the two ends connected to the object and the two sides having an apex at the single point hanger. There may be no manner of adjusting the orientation of the object relative to the hanging surface but to change the length of the two sides of the triangle by moving the portion of the suspension element responsive to the single point hanger. If the object must be level with the horizon or parallel with an architectural line of a room (such as, the ceiling or floor) or other feature to which the objects orientation is made relative, it can be extremely difficult to find and position the exact portion of the suspension element that must be responsive to the single point hanger to orient the object properly.
Another significant problem with conventional hanger devices may be that they do not provide lateral or vertical adjustment of the object after it is hung. As discussed above, in most cases, the single point hanger only allows the orientation of the object relative to the hanging surface to be changed by adjusting the length of the suspension element defining the two sides of the triangle on either side of the apex defined by the single point hanger. The single point hanger typically does not allow for any other type of adjustment, such as lateral or vertical adjustment of the object. In some cases, where an attempt is made to provide additional adjustment, such as the hanger device disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,165, hereby incorporated by reference, the problems associated with the use of a single point hanger are not also addressed. Other configurations of hanger devices, such as the hanger device disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,117, hereby incorporated by reference, which may stabilize the orientation of objects relative to the hanging surface by providing rotatably adjustable interlocking pieces do not provide a manner of further adjustment of the object laterally or vertically.
Another significant problem with conventional hanger devices may be that the hanger devices do not provide sufficient compression of the suspension element or interlocking components to provide sufficient resistance to movement of the hung object. With respect to conventional single point hangers, insufficient friction may be placed on the suspension element to maintain the object in the desired orientation once hung. In some cases, even small differences in the weight of the object itself on either side of the single point hanger may be sufficient to allow the suspension element to move allowing the object to move from the desired orientation. With respect to other types of hangers, the weight of the object may be insufficient to develop sufficient frictional forces between conventional hanger components to maintain their relative positions.
Another significant problem with conventional hanger devices may be that they are comprised of multiple components designed to mate together have different configurations. Examples are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 361,260; 4,883,247; 5,443238; 4,069,998; 3,955,790; 4,645,165, and 4,171,117, hereby incorporated by reference. Thus, with respect to manufacturing these conventional hanger devices, separate tooling may be required to make each of the unique components. Moreover, these types of hanger devices may only function when mating these unique components together. Additionally, these types of hanger devices may have only limited application. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,238, hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a hanger device that mates only with a particular type of slotted frame backer material on an object.
Yet another significant problem with conventional hanger devices may be that they cannot be used for a multiple applications. As disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,982,719; 4,244,549; 5,069,412; 4,333,625; and 275,730, hereby incorporated by reference, these conventional hanger devices can only be used when the suspension element is wire or cord-like. U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,648, hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a locator device for hanger devices that comprise a wire or cord-like suspension element and eyelets. U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,625, hereby incorporated by reference, may only be used with a saw-tooth hanging bracket.
Yet another problem with conventional hanger devices may be that they have too many components or may be difficult to use. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4, 244,549; and 5,947,438, hereby incorporated by reference, discloses the use of a wire that must make a circuitous route through the hanger device to function properly. Alternately, as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,411, hereby incorporated by reference, the hanger device has numerous components to assemble prior to use.
With respect to making and using object hangers, the present invention discloses technology which addresses every one of the above-mentioned problems.
A broad object of the invention is to provide an object hanger system having features which assist in hanging objects on hanging surfaces in the desired orientation. The embodiments of the object hanger invention and the methods of hanging objects disclosed are varied and may be incorporated into a variety of hanger technologies used in numerous hanging applications. Naturally, as a result of these several different and potentially independent aspects of the invention, the specific objects of the invention are quite varied.
Moreover, as can be understood from the description, the hanger invention includes a variety of aspects which may result in various combinations and permutations of the invention. As such, embodiments of the invention should be understood to involve each aspect independently, in various combinations or permutations, or collectively to create a multi-purpose hanger system.
A significant object of embodiments of the invention can be to provide a dual point hanger system. The dual point hanger system addresses the problems with respect to single point hangers as discussed above. The dual point hanger system can eliminate or minimize the effort required to make fine adjustments to the suspension elements (wires, cords, sawtooth elements, or the like) responsive to a single point hanger and can provide frictional surfaces or compression surfaces to resist displacement of the hung object from the desired orientation.
Another significant object of embodiments of the invention can be to provide an interlocking embodiment of the hanger invention. The interlocking embodiment of the invention can be used in various manners to provide three point, four point, or modified sawtooth hanging systems, among others.
Another significant object of embodiments of the invention can be to provide a three point hanger system. The three point hanging system provides a manner of hanging an object without the use of a wire, cord, or saw-tooth suspension element, or the like. The three point hanging system can also provide additional rotational and lateral adjustment of the object relative to the hanging surface.
Another significant object of embodiments of the invention can be to provide a four point hanger system The four point hanger system provides enhanced stability with respect to hanging larger objects or asymmetrical objects which require fine rotational and lateral adjustments with respect to the hanging surface.
Another object of embodiments of the invention can be to provide interlocking elements. In these embodiments of the invention, the hanger can be used with itself in the three point or four point hanger systems described above. The interlocking embodiments of the invention provide a stable manner to hang an object. Another benefit of using the interlocking embodiments of the invention can be that the hung objects will stay close to the hanging surface. When wire or cord-like suspension elements are used the objects tend to lean away from the wall.
Another significant object of embodiments of the invention can be to provide compression elements. One aspect of providing compression elements can be to increase friction between a suspension element, such as a wire or cord, and the hanger. A second aspect of providing compression elements can be to increase the frictional surface area between hangers used in the interlocking embodiment of the invention. A third aspect of providing compression elements can be to increase the friction between two surfaces. As to each of these, the compression aspects of the invention to resist the movement of the object hung.
Another embodiment of the invention can be to provide a multi-purpose hanger system. In a single configuration, the instant hanger invention can provide features compatible with numerous types of conventional hanger devices and hanger hardware such as wire, nails, screws, or saw-tooth hangers, to name a few; or can be compatible with itself in the interlocking embodiment of the invention.
Naturally, further independent objects of the invention are disclosed throughout other areas of the specification and drawings.